Rex Ryan, Jets GM defend trading away Darrelle Revis

Apr. 21, 2013
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General manager John Idzik, left, and coach Rex Ryan found themselves on the defensive in a conference call with reporters as they explained the Jets' decision to trade away Darrelle Revis. / Julio Cortez, AP

After all, it's Ryan's job on the line here, and it just got a lot harder -- ACL recovery or no ACL recovery for Revis.

Ryan dodged the question, instead talking about this week's draft and how an infusion of young talent (aided by the Bucs' 13th overall pick that now belongs to the Jets) could help the Jets in the long-term. Following Ryan's dance, general manager John Idzik jumped in.

"I'd like to briefly address that," Idzik interjected, "by saying that any decision we make, when we say it's in the best interest of the New York Jets, we feel like it's going to make us better."

Down the line, perhaps. But there's no question the 2013 Jets got worse when Revis headed to Tampa in exchange for that first-round pick and a fourth rounder next year that becomes a third rounder if Revis is on the roster three days into the 2014 league year.

The way Idzik explains it, the Jets had little choice in the matter.

While the rumors were circulating the Jets were in talks with teams about a trade of Revis over the past few months, the team used a loophole in language to say they weren't "actively" shopping Revis.

Sunday, a few hours after Revis was dealt to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that continued to be the refrain.

Idzik laid out his reasons why the team decided to trade away arguably the best defensive player in the league. They were:

--Revis' desire to land a deal of "historical proportions," which was the six-year, $96 million contract the Buccaneers gave him. Idzik claimed the Jets' ability to make other moves down the line would've been compromised by such a contract.

--Revis' ACL injury clouding his worth at this point. In other words, if the Jets were willing to give Revis that "historical" deal, it would've been after he proved he'd fully recovered from his knee injury.

--The lack of progress in preliminary contract talks the team had with Revis' representatives. Idzik said there was a "substantial difference" between what the team would've offered and what Revis was commanding.

"It was never our intent to proactively go out and shop Darrelle; it was never our goal to have Darrelle leave the Jets," Idzik said. "On the contrary, as I've stated before, we wanted Darrelle to remain a Jet for the long term ideally. But Tampa reached out, they expressed a sustained and sincere interest in Darrelle.

"As things go in the National Football League, there's a lot of kicking tires, a lot of speculative-type discussions with respect to trades. But as you get close to the draft, those talks become more real. That's, in general, what happened here."

Idzik stated a few times he wishes there wasn't such a tight deadline on this deal in the form of the draft, which begins Thursday. The new GM, hired by owner Woody Johnson four months after Revis was hurt, would've preferred to allow the situation to play out, to see how healthy Revis would be this year, which theoretically could've driven up his value on the trade market.

Idzik stated he didn't have that luxury. And since the rumors of Revis' impeding departure began even before Idzik was hired, it's clear Johnson was the driving force here. Even if Idzik wanted to keep Revis around, he'd have had a tough time convincing Johnson to pay him.

Now it's Johnson, the man who brought in Tim Tebow to sell seats, who will surely feel the wrath of his season-ticket holders if this upcoming season is as disappointing as expected.

"I've been at this a while now, and there has never been a year where I haven't tried to win using everything I have in trying to build a team that's capable of (winning). This year's no different," Johnson said. "We've had great years and some years that are disappointing, i.e. last year. But my objective and my willingness to do everything that I can do to make the team better is there. This decision was part of it. â?¦

"We're committed to putting a team on the field that's a winning team and doing it in a deliberative and sound way. I'm encouraged. We've got some young players that will be better. We'll have the opportunity to pick up some players in the draft. I'm extremely optimistic."

Maybe he shouldn't be. Not with the way the Jets have drafted in recent years.

Again, there's no reason to believe the 2013 Jets are better on Sunday than they were on Saturday. And that's terrible news for Ryan, who could be facing a season to save his job. Johnson threw his support behind Ryan, calling him a "very, very good head coach," but it's April. Get back to him in January.

Ryan, who has gushed about Revis at length in the past, is doing all he can do at this point, which is to put his faith in his current team.

"We will play great defense here. I don't think that's even a question," Ryan said. "We're a football team that has a No. 1 corner. We're fortunate to have Antonio Cromartie here."

Sure, but Kyle Wilson and the depth behind him isn't very encouraging. And the rest of the roster is anything but reassuring.

"Nobody can tell (if) a trade makes you better or makes you worse," said Ryan, who claims he wasn't surprised by the trade, even though he had no discussions with other teams. "Are you talking about for one week? Are you talking about a season? Nobody really knows, nobody has the answer to that.

"I will say this, and I mentioned this over and over. We will play great defense to the New York Jets' standard. That's how I've approached it from the day I took this job. I knew it would happen, and I'm telling you we will continue to play great defense."

After a pause, Ryan added, "That's not a slight to Darrelle Revis whatsoever. Darrelle Revis is a tremendous player, he's been a tremendous player, and I think he'll continue to be one as well."